China: The picturesque village of Pou-eul in Yunnan province surrounded by tiered rice paddies. Engraving by Louis Delaporte (1842-1925), 1867. Delaporte produced a great number of drawings, sketches and watercolours during his two-year venture (1866-68) with the Mekong Exploration Commission sponsored by the French Ministry of the Navy, the intention of which was to lay the groundwork for the expansion of French colonies in Indochina. Traveling almost exclusively on the Mekong by boat, the small French delegation voyaged from Saigon to Phnom Penh to Luang Prabang, then farther north.

---

Size: 4939px × 3562px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: &, 1867, 19th, agriculture, art, arts, asia, asian, black, bw, century, china, chinese, colonialism, commission, delaporte, east, engraving, expedition, exploration, farm, farming, field, french, hill, historical, history, illustration, image, images, indochina, louis, mekong, mountain, paddy, pictures, pou-eul, province, puer, rice, sketch, village, white, yunnan, yunnanese